Ruger Mark 1 Bull barrel

Ole Joe Clark

Ole Joe Clark

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Looked at a Ruger Mark 1, bull barrel 4-5" long, I think it is 4 1/2" standard length. Bluing is great, except holster wear at end of barrel. Bore looked really good. The want $330.00 OTD. No box, 1 magazine. I would rate the pistol at 75% because of the holster wear.

Please state your thoughts on these pistols. Thanks in advance for your help.

Have a blessed day,

Leon
 
Wish I could tell you more about the Mk.I, as I only have experience with my Mk. II bull barrel. Believe the Mk. I magazines are 9 round and the Mk. II forward is 10 round. Do not know if the newer magazines work in the Mk.I? Vaguely remember something about Mk.I may not have hold open after the magazine is empty. My Mk.II has performed well for at least 36yrs. since buying it new. Have even had it apart for cleaning and no issues with getting it back together, but probably luck with my ham hands!
 
I have one. I like it. I find it to be accurate and reliable. It is a little bit of a trick to field strip it for good cleaning, but not THAT hard. Mine is pretty obliging about the variety of ammo it will digest. I prefer the look of the bull barrel to that of the tapered barrel. As noted above it uses the older style 9 round magazine. Last I checked they are still available from Ruger, and probably other suppliers as well.
 
I first used a MK I bull barrel that was loaned to me for bullseye in 1974 then after owning a few MK IIs added a MK I bull barrel cheap. As posted the MK I used 9 round magazines and its slide did not lock open after the last shot was fired. However its slide can be manually locked back by raising the safety while holding it open and the thumb buttons on newer 10 round magazines can be reversed so that they will fit a MK I. For those with any mechanical inclination the slightly harder reassembly of the MK I thru MK III becomes irrelevant after a little practice. I do like the MK II better because with it I do not have to count rounds fired to avoid snapping on an empty chamber but the MK I is a good old gun and mine will not be sold in the foreseeable future.
 
The Mark I bull barrel was my first wholly-owned target pistol, which I bought new in 1965. I liked the looks and the balance of the piece, and it shot like a dream. 100% reliable mechanically.

It has no lockback capability, but one soon learns to count rounds fired, and to pull the bolt back with thumb and forefinger while raising the safety to lock it back with the middle finger when out of ammo.

The mags hold 9 rounds rather than 10.

While there is an overtravel adjustment, it's hard to reach and adjust. I installed a set screw into a hole drilled and tapped in the trigger guard, and placed a lock nut on it. This serves as an excellent overtravel adjustment, bearing with minimum clearance on the trigger. I also installed a trigger shoe to give it an even better "feel."

I cleaned the trigger pull up a bit with judicious stoning of the sear. Now it has the best trigger of all my Ruger .22 pistols. Like breaking a thin glass rod - pull, no creep, bang, no overtravel.

It serves admirably as a field gun, and I've made some really unbelievable shots at small game as far out as 50 yards.

You could do a lot worse than one of these. I shot this one competitively for years. It's particularly good for rapid fire.

RUGER_MARK_I_1965_zpsu6de9em8.jpg


I got along with just these two guns in bullseye competition for quite a while.

COMPETITION_PISTOLS_zpsh58uvzs8.jpg
 
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I bought one just a few weeks ago, very nice pistol and very accurate

3cbae38391a917995b85214800ee0b6f.jpg


25 meters

808b0e9b8eb8e49b6a2215d95f6b6ae6.jpg


I like the fact that the barrel has no markings, unlike the Mark II

Mark I

421bf76ceefb61e08867f58c45ab9423.jpg


Mark II

b0d7c227e5995e5c24048462b101e513.jpg
 
I bought a Mark I bull barrel new in 1976 and have shot it a great deal since. It remains reliable and very accurate with the right ammo, usually CCI standard velocity. I can say about the same for my Mark II Gov't. Model bull barrel I bought in 1989.
 
The standard bull barrel Ruger Standard Auto/Mk series Target guns have 5.5" barrels.

I believe the Mk I magazines have the loading button on the opposite side of the body from newer versions. This is easily swapped; even I did it without a negligent discharge. :)

$330 as you describe the one for sale sounds a bit high. You can pick up nicer older examples in the $250-300 range with careful shopping. Good luck in your search.
 
Barrel length of a Mark I Bull barrel is either 5.25" or 5.5" the shorter was only offered '52-'57. If you found one of those you got a deal.

Barrel warning marking appear on Mark I's IIRC in '78
 
I have one older than the Mark 1 from 1957 and has the safety warning on the barrel like the one above. I assumed they all had it. I like the Mark 11 bull barrel for one hand shooting.
 
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The warning started in 1978. After the infamous lawsuit that almost put Ruger out of business. Maybe it’s a replacement barrel ?
 
The original mark 1 had the long heavy tapered barrel. I was a Ruger nut back in 60s but quit them when new model SAs came out. The 22 auto pistols I bought a little longer until barrel warnings came out. I still look at their rifles and buy the older handguns.
 
Price may be a bit high depending on blue wear.Theyre nice accurate plinkers,but I’d replace the old mag with a new one,the chrome base mags are a pain.The only bad thing I can say about that model is that it’s more muzzle heavy than I like.
 
Well this don't have anything to do with price of the Ruger Mark 1, only the front sight and the fact its got a slight hook and sets real high on the front of that barrel. I had a Ruger Mark 1 and had it down the front of my pants one time and tried to pull it out and got the sight hung on my underwear and liked to have never got that pistol out from my waist. It has been close to 40 years since I did that and I laugh when I think about it. That front sight is tall and sharp.:D
 
I picked this one up today. I'd say that the asking price is decent, maybe a bit high but not crazy. They're a nice gun, popular enough that they've been improved through the years but they still sell well.

Mark I.jpg

Mark I 2.jpg
 
I always shot the bull barrel MKI better than the longer tapered barrel MKI in NRA Bullseye Match shooting...it just seemed to hang steadier and dampen recoil better when shooting one handed . That old saw about longer barrels being more accurate is Hog Wash ! The long tapered barrel MKI Target just wiggled around so much more...the longer sight radius didn't make up for the movement ....the bull barrel hangs steady .
My nephew has it now , supposed to be just "loaned" to him but for $330.00 I would jump at the chance for another I could call my own ...
I vote ...Buy It !
Gary
 
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bigggbbruce said:
My '76 Mark I doesn't have it.. are you sure of your guns age..that would be around 128244..
Click to expand...
I looked it up just now. I did not count the 16 in front. My mother in law left it to me. The sights have been filed on and most of the finish is gone. Looks like it was made in 1981 and carried in a tackle box for 30 years. Sorry about that.
 
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